Wild Blood
by siqwithaQ
Summary: In a world where the King never died, Roger and Dragon try to raise their sons away from the government's eye. Secrecy turns out to be more of a challenge than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just to point out, that if Rouge never had to hide her pregnancy, Ace would have been born eleven months earlier, in the February of the previous year.

* * *

As Dragon stood by the window, he had to wonder why it wasn't raining.

In literature, the death of a beloved person was accompanied by a dreary sky, wet with the tears of the world. And yet, on this day, the day of his wife's death, the sun was merciless in its rays and the sky was an almost obnoxiously bright blue.

It did make _some_ poetic sense, however. As a revolutionary, she hadn't had any ties to this world. She had no family to cry for her.

A faint sniffling was heard from behind him.

_Except for them_.

She had the two of them to cry for her; her husband, the one who knew her best, and her son, the one who shared her blood. He shared Dragon's blood, too.

Dragon stalked over to the bed. Lying on top of it were his wife's body and their son, cradled in her cooling arms. It had been a death by childbirth.

As he picked up the small boy, he questioned himself. What was he going to do? Was he going to drop his son off somewhere and hope for the best? Was he going to let his only son be raised by someone else? Would he let his son grow up an orphan?

He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to hold a baby. The boy wasn't whining or fidgeting, though, so he figured he must have been doing _something_ right. As he looked down at his son, whose head was cushioned against his collarbone, two wide black eyes opened and met his.

Dragon had to smile. The boy certainly did look a lot like her. He brought a hand up to his son's face, where his pinkie finger was quickly caught in a surprisingly strong grip for an infant. Then again, why should he expect anything less from a carrier of D?

He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave his son behind for the revolution. Not in a world where the Pirate King still roamed the seas. Not in a world where pirates aiming to take Roger's head ruthlessly killed civilians in their way. Not in a world where the Marines were extra paranoid about criminals having families and children after Roger announced his own marriage.

In a different world, maybe, he might have felt secure in leaving his son with someone like Garp, who might have been able to provide a safer life. Yes, in a different world, he would have done just that.

But not in this one.

* * *

Six years ago, Roger had announced to the world his intention to wed the lovely Ms Portgas D Rouge. Five years ago, Roger had _not_ announced to the world his child growing inside the womb of the lovely Mrs Gol D Rouge.

And nine months later, they had a baby boy. And his name was Ace. And they loved him.

In fact, the whole _crew_ was fairly smitten with the boy. Everyone had come to be attached to him immediately, and now they couldn't imagine sailing without him. They couldn't imagine not having Ace's special chair next to his father's in the dining hall, couldn't imagine not taking special precautions whenever they wanted to take Ace into port.

For the most part, Ace didn't leave the ship. He was a secret and he would stay that way. But when they came to a peaceful port town, where it was unlikely to meet other pirates or the ilk, they would stop a ways away from the dock and let someone go ahead with Ace before the ship pulled into the actual dock. The boy couldn't spend his _entire_ childhood on the Oro Jackson. The boy needed to learn that the world was larger than just his home.

At age four, Ace's existence still wasn't known to the world. Roger hoped it would be someday. He hoped his son would go out into the world and make his own name, and he couldn't do that if he had Roger's tacked onto it.

The name Gol was far, far too well known, for obvious reasons. Portgas was just as known, for being married to him. So if he used his father's name _or _his mother's, the world would know who his parents were immediately. So that left the dilemma of how Ace would address himself as he grew up.

For the time being, he only carried one name. Roger though that one day in the future, Ace could pick his _own_ family name.

* * *

It had been a long trip. His son, Luffy, was more of a handful than he could have predicted.

The first problem was that he had to sneak the bundle past his own guards. They would have been sure to ask if they saw him carrying something small and swathed in blankets, and he didn't have a proper lie to dispel suspicions about it.

The second problem being that at some point, Luffy had discovered his vocal cords and was having quite a bit of fun trying them out. Dragon was hesitant to chastise him for it, lest the boy become afraid to talk at _all_, but it was certainly _not_ the most opportune time for the boy to be making noise.

And on top of that, he had nothing secure like a cradle to put the boy in, so he had to hold the loud, wriggling infant in his lap as he tried to finish his paper work.

Yet somehow, nobody managed to find out about Luffy. It was a miracle.

When they returned to Baltigo, he managed to get Luffy past everyone again and into the meeting room for his highest ranking subordinates, the ones closest to him. After all, he couldn't keep his son a secret from absolutely _everyone_.

"Dragon-san, you're back! …Is that a baby?"

"A _**baby**_? Is it yours?"

"Where'd you get it?"

"Wait, weren't you on a mission with your wife? Where is she?"

"DID YOU TRADE YOUR WIFE IN FOR A BABY?" someone yelled accusingly.

"I don't think it works that way, Gary."

"Ooooh, look at how cute she is!"

"Are you sure it isn't a boy?"

"SILENCE PLEASE!" Dragon yelled. Sometimes these people frustrated him. They thought they could get away with so much because they were high ranking, but it was really just annoying. Luckily, they knew when to shut up and listen.

Until Luffy made a strange, happy sound in the back of his throat.

"Did it just… coo?"

"Actually, I think it was more of a croon."

"A chirp, maybe?"

"What are you, idiots? IT WAS TOTALLY PURRING!"

"SHUT UP, GARY!"

"Stop debating onomatopoeia and start thinking about the important stuff! Dragon-san, we need the details of this!" Becky, the _rational_ one, effectively quieted the assembled.

Dragon sighed. He really should have thought this through a little better. "To answer your earlier questions, yes, it's mine, my wife died in childbirth, no, I did not trade her in for a baby, and it's a _boy_, not a girl. His name is Luffy. Also, it was a trill. End of discussion."

"What do you plan to do with him?"

"Raise him. Train him. Make him strong. When he's old enough, he'll pick his _own_ destiny," Dragon told them.

There was a brief silence as the gathered people thought it over. A child in Baltigo? _Dragon's_ child in Baltigo? Could the Headquarters survive having another D in its care? How would they adjust to taking care of a child?

"…I still say it was purring."

"DAMNIT GARY."

* * *

A/N: Why am I doing this? I have so many other things to be working on and yet I'm starting something new. To be frank, this one will probably take a backseat to my other stories, unless I have a crazy inspiration brick to the face that forces me to sit down and continue it immediately.

Ideas, ideas, ideas! I only have a few, so I would really like your ideas! If you give me an idea I don't already have and I use it, I'll give you credit for it in the author's note of the chapter. So don't pick anything to obvious or I'll get the same ideas over and over.

And seriously, Gary, what _are_ you doing? I mentioned you in Death & Daffodils as being a revolutionary, and now you're in Wild Blood? How are you doing that?

GARY YOU SPREAD LIKE A DISEASE

Don't worry about OCs in this fic; the most you'll get are names with characteristics. I strongly dislike OCs, but sometimes I need names to use as placeholders, and as soon as someone has a name in my mind, they have a characterisation to go with it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Why is it that every time I claim a story is going to be more of a side project, it becomes more popular than my main stories? It's like a curse of some kind.

* * *

Like a lot of Ds, little Ace had absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

If the crew wasn't careful to keep him quiet, he would unabashedly call Rouge and Roger 'Mama' and 'Daddy' in public. After all, he was only a toddler who had no idea why he was supposed to be a secret. He was always eager to explore, whether it be in a room of the Oro Jackson he hadn't seen yet or a Marine Base. It became very obvious very fast that someone had to keep an eye on him at all times, or he would try to sneak off the ship at every port.

Therefore, it didn't really come as a surprise when, while Roger was visiting with his rival and drinking buddy Edward, Ace got loose on the Moby Dick. What came as a surprise was that he did it right under the noses of the two crews when a significant portion of both knew Kenbunshoku Haki.

They only found him by chance.

* * *

Marco was flying back from his latest outing when he noticed Roger's ship pulled up next to theirs. He made a mental note to fish up something for the hangover Oyaji was sure to have in the morning after the drinking he would do with the King today.

Marco ducked around to land a ways away from where Roger, Rouge and Oyaji were (he had to wonder why Rouge was there; she didn't condone of the heavy drinking her husband was partial to). He was tired and he really didn't feel like talking to the idiotic King at the moment.

He had landed on the railing and was about to change back when a small figure caught his eye. _Is that a kid?_

It was. It was some three — or maybe four — year old brat sitting on the deck and gaping at him in a way that made him pause before returning to his human form.

The brat pushed himself up onto his feet and took little tiny toddler steps over to Marco, little tiny toddler hands reaching up to grab him. Marco had to wonder _did no one ever teach this kid not to play with fire_ while the brat giggled and drew his fingers across the licking flames of Marco's phoenix form. _That_ fire didn't burn, yes, but he better not let the kid think that fire wouldn't hurt him. So he turned human again and let the fabric of his jacket replace feathers as the brat latched his little tiny toddler mouth onto Marco's sleeve.

"Who brought you here, brat?" Marco questioned.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise and he let Marco's sleeve fall from his mouth. His face was a mask of astonishment and wonder for a brief second before he took off at a surprisingly fast run for such a young kid. He had incredibly powerful lungs for his age, too, as Marco could still hear him yelling for his 'daddy' when he was halfway across the deck.

He noticed, with some alarm, that the brat was running straight towards where the two captains were meeting. The kid easily slipped through the crowd of legs that belonged to members of each crew who were watching the discussion. Marco would certainly have quite a bit more difficulty than that, but he had to stop the brat before he caused trouble. So he shouldered his way through his brothers and sisters to the front of the group, only to join the rest of them in staring in shock as the brat ran right up to Roger, still wailing, "Daddy!"

* * *

He and Rouge had been having a very serious discussion with Good Ol' Eddy when it happened. Ace had come weaving through the innumerable pairs of legs and dove straight into Roger's arms, calling him 'Daddy' all the while. Roger had frozen on the spot as Eddy raised an eyebrow at him. He could see from the corner of his eye that his lovely wife had paled a little.

The entire deck went silent and no one dared to make a move as Ace continuously tried to get his father's attention. After a moment, Rouge, as Roger was still frozen, saw fit to comfort her distressed son.

"What is it, sweetie?" she asked, pointedly ignoring the dropped jaws from Edward's many children.

"Mama!" Ace forgot about trying to rouse Roger, who was still completely stunned. "Fire bird pine-y-appa!"

Rouge risked a glance towards where she had noticed Marco, to whom she was sure her son was referring, arriving. The look on his face was both startled, puzzled and annoyed. A few people snickered discretely over the young boy's childish description.

"Uh… M-Mr and Mrs Gol?" an unnamed member of Edward's crew stuttered, a little nervous to be addressing the King and Queen of the pirate world. "Did that boy… Did that boy just call you his parents?"

"Well, we _are_ his parents after all!" Roger had evidently recovered himself, only to slip into his usual _bad-at-keeping-secrets_ self. "Wait, you're not supposed to know that! Never mind, Ace is most definitely _not_ my son!"

"Daddy?" Ace whimpered, wondering why his father suddenly wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Did Ace do something wrong?

"AH! I'm lying!" Roger contradicted instantly, seeing the anguish on his precious son's face. He picked the boy up by under his arms and swung him around, causing Ace to squeal in delight. "Who's my little munchkin? You are! That's right, you are!"

The Whitebeard Pirates gaped at the man, truthfully a little unsettled at the most powerful man alive using baby talk. Roger's crew merely rolled their eyes at the now familiar antics.

"So," Edward's voice rumbled for the first time in the exchange, "he _is_ your son, then?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean," Roger looked around as if Marines were going to jump from the shadows and take his son away. "Don't tell anyone, alright?"

* * *

Ace had been left in the care of the division commanders as Roger, Rouge and Edward relocated to Oyaji's cabin to finish their talk in private. Rayleigh was there, too, and with his help Ace was able to learn childish mockeries of some of their names. For example, Namur was 'No-mer,' Thatch was 'Sasht,' Izou was 'Ee-sue,' and so on. By far, they had the most fun trying to get him to pronounce Rakuyo's name. ("Rake-yo? Rack-yo-yo? Lake-yo-yo? Lace-oo-yo?") For some reason, the boy was insistent on not using Marco's name.

"Come on, kid, it's not that hard," Marco prodded. "Just say Marco."

Ace sucked in his lips and shook his head stubbornly. "Pine-y-appa."

"Marco."

"Pine-y-appa."

"_Marco._"

"_Pine-y-appa._"

"Marco!"

"Pine-y-appa!"

"Maaaaar-cooooo," he drew out the syllables, hoping it would encourage the boy to imitate them.

"Piiiiiiiiine-yyyyy-aaaappa," Ace countered.

"You're just messing with me now, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't worry about it." Rayleigh patted his shoulder. "The kid's a rascally little shithead, just like his father."

"Shithead!" Ace parroted enthusiastically.

"Where did he hear…" Haruta stopped herself. "You know what, don't answer that."

* * *

Inside Oyaji's cabin, the discussion was coming to a close.

"…I figure," The sake in Oyaji's cup sloshed as he shifted his weight. He continued, "we might want to get Dragon's opinion on this before we do anything."

Roger and Rouge nodded in agreement. "It does seem right up his alley," Rouge mused.

"And his resources are nothing to scoff at, either. He could be a huge help, if we can get him to go along with it," Roger concurred. "Unfortunately, I don't think he would agree to anything Eddy suggests, not after what happened the last time you two saw each other."

"What?" Edward defended himself. "He was trespassing on my territory!"

"If I may," Rouge interjected, "he only wanted to talk to you about… What _did_ he want to talk to you about? You threw him out before he could get a word in."

"Which is pretty unfair," Roger finished. Edward had the decency to look apologetic. "So if he won't talk to you, and probably no one representing your crew, either, how are we going to — Why are you looking at me like that?"

Roger had no idea what he was getting himself into.

* * *

"Time to go, sweetie," Rouge announced, taking Ace from where he had been playing in one of Blamenco's many unending pockets. The boy whined in displeasure. "Say good-bye, Ace."

"Buh-bye!" He waved his arms frantically. The Whitebeard Pirates waved back, already fond of the boy after one short afternoon.

"Now blow a kiss," she told him softly.

Ace pressed both palms to his mouth before throwing his arms wide and exclaiming, "Mwa!" It was obviously something his mother taught him to do and there were many chuckles at his cuteness.

"Aw, why can't we keep him?" someone bemoaned. "He's too adorable to let go!"

_He really is_, Rouge reflected as she climbed back onto the Jackson with Ace in her arms. She smiled affectionately as he played with her long hair and babbled happily about Maracas. _He really is too cute.__  
_

* * *

A/N: I think… I think I actually made Ace _too_ cute, but I don't think anyone will hold it against me. At least, it might make up for the Luffy-less chapter in some people's eyes.


End file.
